


A little reassurance

by seektheinfinite



Series: Family is everything [5]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: 31/03/17, Angst, Bonding, Episode Tag, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 09:44:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10511217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seektheinfinite/pseuds/seektheinfinite
Summary: Missing scene from tonight episode 31/03/17I was dissappointed with the lack of Liv/Robert scene in tonight episode so I wrote it myself.“Besides, she is your mum, and I know you care about her really, even if you don’t let on sometimes.” Leaning his shoulder against hers, he added, “you know it’s okay to be scared, right?”





	

“Liv” Robert knocked lightly on the bedroom door. He wasn’t sure that she’d want to speak to him, having just found out that her mum was seriously ill in hospital she’d stormed out from behind the bar straight up to her room. Usually when Liv shut herself away up here it meant she wanted to be left alone. Robert knew from experience that even if Liv thought she wanted to be alone, what she really needed right now was his support.

“What?” Came the angry reply from inside the room, followed by several thuds that made him wince. He could only imagine the carnage that he was going to walk into when she did eventually let him in.

Robert stood patiently on the other side of the door, waiting for her to stop throwing things before he replied. “Can I come in?”

There were a few seconds of silence where he wondered if she was just going to ignore him. She was stubborn like that, just like her brother. He breathed a sigh of relief when the door to her room opened a crack and he could just about see Liv’s arm through the gap as she quickly retreated inside.

The first thing he noticed was the picture that Liv kept of her and her mum on her bedside table. No longer in its rightful place, it now lay abandoned on the floor, face down. Clothes littered pretty much every available surface, and Robert took a moment to consider which of this was new carnage due to the current situation, and which of it was just Liv being too lazy to actually put anything away.

Her suitcase lay open on the bed, empty, aside from her favourite teddy bear. She’d brought it with her when she’d come to live with them; he’d made the mistake of asking about it once. She’d snapped at him as was customary in the beginning, and told him it was none of his business. He’d found out later from Aaron that he’d given it to her when she was born as a kind of welcome to the world present; he’d been amazed she still had it.

“What do you even pack for Mauritius?” Liv questioned, breaking the silence as Robert stood in the doorway, unmoving. “It’s hot most of the time isn’t it, but does it get cold at night? Does it rain? How long am I even going to be away for?”

Robert could see what she was doing, she was doing exactly what he did in a situation like this, and that was using the practical stuff as a distraction. Focusing on the practical things meant that she didn’t have to think about the emotional side of all of this, and the very real possibility from what Chas had said that she could lose her mum.

Robert shrugged, “Yeah it’s pretty warm right now but you might want to take a jumper or too, it can get pretty cool at night. I think you’ll be okay with the rain, Spain doesn’t really get all that much of it this time of the year.” He made his way further into the room now, as Liv bustled around beside him grabbing stuff from all over. “As for how long you’re gonna be gone for I don’t know. I’ve booked you a hotel for a week but we’ll just wait and see how your mum is and go from there.”

Liv nodded before quickly stuffing a pair of pyjamas on top of the teddy already in her bag. She knew Robert knew all about it, but she still got embarrassed. Pulling the suitcase over to one side, she sat down heavily on the side of the bed, chewing the inside of her lip in thought.

“Penny for them?” Robert nudged her gently as he sat down next to her, pushing the pile of clothes back behind him as they threatened to topple over.

“Why does she always have to ruin everything?” Liv snapped, surprising Robert with her anger. “Aaron’s coming home next week and I’m not going to get to see him because my stupid mum went and did something stupid with her stupid mate Carol. Now Chas and I have to go and rescue her because Carol can’t be bothered.”

“Well,” Robert started, not sure what to say to that. It certainly wasn’t the response he was expecting. “Yeah, your mum did do something stupid but she didn’t do fall off on purpose Liv, you know that really. I know you were looking forward to seeing Aaron but you can call him; whenever you like, not just at 6 o’clock.”

Liv huffed a laugh at that, even flashing a hint of a smile, even though she couldn’t look Robert in the eye.

“Besides, she is your mum, and I know you care about her really, even if you don’t let on sometimes.” Leaning his shoulder against hers, he added, “you know it’s okay to be scared, right?”

“What if she dies?” Liv looked at him now as though willing him to give her an answer that would make this whole thing go away. “I don’t want to be an orphan Robert?”

Robert leant towards her now, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her towards him. She resisted at first, remaining stiff in his arms, but eventually gave in when she realised that he wasn’t going to be letting go anytime soon.

“I’m not going to lie to you Liv, it’s a possibility. She’s in a pretty bad way and she might not make it.” Liv had her head pressed against his chest now, and he heard the sharp intake of breath at his words. “But there’s also every chance that she’ll be just fine. The only information we have is from Carol and we’ll from what I know she’s not the most reliable of sources.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her.” Liv whimpered, almost imperceptibly beside him. “What if I never get the chance to tell her I love her.”

“Hey,” Robert pushed her gently away from him, enough that he could look her in the eye as he reassured her, “none of that okay. She’s unconscious right now so she won’t be able to talk to you but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to talk to her. People can hear things, process them even when they’re unconscious. You’ll get the chance to tell her, I promise.”

Liv swiped furiously at her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper, brushing away the tears that ran down her cheeks, “you’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“Honestly, I’m not.” Robert took a deep breath before adding, “when I was shot, I was in a coma for a while. I don’t remember everything but there are bits, from when I was unconscious, stuff that people said to me that I remember.” Seeing her frown of confusion, he added, “I wouldn’t lie to you Liv, this stuff is to important.”

Liv didn’t really know what to say in response to that. She’d known that Robert had been shot but they’d not really talked about it much. It was just one of those things that was never discussed. “Thanks.” She nodded, before making to stand up from the bed. “I guess I better finish packing, since we’ll have to leave soon.”

“Not so fast,” Robert stopped her, pulling her in for one more hug. “It’s going to be so quiet without you or Aaron around, I won’t know what to do with myself.”

Liv pulled away, smiling at him now, “you love us really. Besides you’d get bored without us here to annoy you.”

“That’s true.” Robert replied, before making his way towards the door.

“You not going to help me pack?” Liv questioned, throwing him a cheeky grin.

Robert grimaced, glancing around the room, before settling back on Liv, “yeah, no sorry. I love you, but you honestly couldn’t pay me enough to sort through this mess.

“Whatever.” Liv threw back, already ignoring Robert as she reached across the bed for a pair of shorts.


End file.
